The Edirol V-4 has been the standard mixer for years, leaving people desperately wanting a sequel. Korg tried with the KrossFour, but what they came up with was mainly a V-4 wannabe — a welcome DJ-style crossfader couldn’t make up for the lack of differentiating features, and the V-4’s elegant layout. And Edirol’s own HD-resolution V-440HD wasn’t priced for mortals.
The Edirol V-8 promises to change all of that.
First, Edirol has wisely copied the satisfying control layout of the V-4. Hate on the V-4 if you like, but I think we take for granted how cleanly-designed and intuitive that layout is. The V-4 isn’t a perfect mixer by any means, but by encouraging mixing flow, and creating an affordable mixer that worked well for a broad audience, they did create a major hit.
What’s great is that the V-8 adds what the V-4 lacked:
- Computer inputs: two “RGB” inputs with standard D-Sub 15-pin inputs (what most people call VGA jacks, even if that’s not strictly correct); a switcher for selection
- More inputs all around: 7 composite ins, 4 S-Video jacks, for a total of 8 simultaneous input channels (i.e., you can use up to 4x composite and 4x S-Video simultaneously) … oh, yeah, and BNC jacks
- More outputs: 3 output channels, and monitors for inputs 1-7, channel B (monitoring either S-Video or RGB computer in), and the main preview output jack
- Independent, DJ-style vertical faders instead of those inconvenient V-4 knobs, plus better preset buttons — and an output fader, not a knob (finally!)
- Internal scan converter and time base correction
And this all comes with “DV-quality” video processing, 4:2:2 full-frame digital with 500 lines of resolution for processing, mixing, and output. That’s perhaps not all that much in the computer age, but it’ll do — especially if Edirol has kept the price down to Earth. Some of the new effects and transitions are fluffy, but there is a new feedback effect and, more importantly, horizontal flip. There’s also improved support for V-LINK audio sync, but until there’s wider implementation on the software side, I think the hardware features will be more significant.
VJForums reader sleepytom points out that the output fade now works on your preview output, too — and there’s a looping preview out.
The only really bad news: you can’t mix two computer inputs, you can only switch between them. Still, this is a huge leap into the computer age for Edirol, and long overdue. Addendum: I figured this went without saying, but since CDM contributor vade points it out, the tradeoff — as with the V4 — is resolution for convenience and economy. So you get reliable, easy mixing, but you have to be willing to settle a bit in an age when computers are pumping out HD (and better) resolutions — we still haven’t seen anything economical that can mix that in hardware, though there’s always the option of adding a switcher so you can use more than one input, sans mixing.
PS: Edirol, thanks for making it black.
Availability: this month. That is, assuming it doesn’t immediately sell out — which it probably will. Expect backlogs even worse than the V-4.
Pricing: not sure; trying to find out. Word from the show is GBP1099, though those of you here in the crippled-dollar US, I expect we’ll get different pricing.
Discussion at VJForums, which also mentions the P-10 MJPEG sampler / SD card “presenter” product coming out — more on that if we see anything
Photos from VJ Culture [Audio/Visual Culture]
The V-8 doesn’t have the sophisticated blend modes, customizable control powers, or matrix-style routing of the Vixid X16-4, the other live visual-ready mixer we’ve been watching. But then, the two aren’t really comparable: just as the Vixid promises to be the high-end mixing option, the V-8 could (depending on its price) become the new mainstream benchmark. Stay tuned.
Yo, if you work for Edirol, give us a holler. Yeah, I know. You went to Germany because you think there aren’t any VJs in America. But you can talk to us anyway. CDM is, like, global and everything.
